Ribbon-cutting ceremony held on Dec. 17
Sarasota Memorial Hospital-Venice (SMH-Venice) opened its much anticipated ER expansion on Monday, Dec. 16, “a transformative step” to meet the growing health care needs of South County residents, the hospital has announced.
The $90-million, 30,000-square-foot expansion “significantly increases the hospital’s emergency care capacity,” a news release points out. The Emergency Care Center (ECC) has 61 exam rooms, up from the original 28, the release notes. “The expansion also includes four additional resuscitation suites, upgraded imaging facilities, and a third, centrally located CT scanner, all designed to address the rising demand for emergency services,” the release adds.
Earlier this year, SMH-Venice also opened a new, five-story patient care tower, the release continues. The addition of the third patient care tower doubled SMH-Venice’s capacity from 110 patient rooms to 212, the release says. “Along with the ER expansion, the upgrades and enhancements will help streamline emergency response times at SMH’s Venice hospital and provide a more efficient and comfortable experience for patients during emergency situations,” the release points out.
On Monday, SMH-Venice Campus President Sharon Roush and hospital staff held a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the ER expansion.
“This milestone represents our commitment to the community and our mission to provide world-class healthcare close to home,” Roush said in the release. “With these new resources, we are better equipped than ever to meet the needs of our growing population.”
“SMH-Venice reached full capacity just days after its original opening in November 2021, prompting the Sarasota County Public Hospital Board to prioritize these critical expansion projects,” the release points out. “The abrupt closure of ShorePoint Health Venice in 2022 further underscored the urgency to increase capacity and capabilities at SMH-Venice,” the release says. Moreover, the release notes, “ShorePoint Health Punta Gorda has been closed since Hurricane Milton struck the area in October.”